For Christmas we ask that instead of sending us a card you please make a minimum donation of £2, we would really appreciate this ongoing support to help the unit that saved our baby and helped him to become the gorgeous cheeky boy he is who can enjoy his first Christmas :)

Julian Oliver Orlan Leyster

Jules was born at another hospital on March 24th 2010 at 3.19pm weighing 9lb exactly.

I had reduced movements the night before and through the night and decided to go to be monitored the next morning. When I got there it showed no variability, his heart rate was steady but he wasn't happy, he was as you like showing no emotion or movement.

I was told that I would be having the baby today one way or another, enter me going into total shock mode as I was 36 weeks and 6 days pregnant and had just popped along to the hospital alone as I thought he would be a typical baby and wake up the minute I was on the monitor so a very urgent phone call was made to daddy to get him there promptly.

They took me to the labour ward and monitored me some more and when Roger arrived they broke my waters as I was already 2cm dilated (so my pains must have been doing something the day before) I laboured for a little way and made it to 3cm quite quickly but he started to become very distressed.

Roger was rushed to get ready for theatre, as was I, at which point it was still going to be done using a spinal, however by the time we got to theatre they could no longer find his heart beat and I was very quickly put under a general.

Reading the notes after, there was not even time to prepare me properly, the consultant apologised afterwards for the rush job but that it was very urgent, the notes classed it as a 'crash code red' emergency, our little boy was born 'dusky' with apgars of 0, 1, 3 he had no heartrate for 12 minutes and had 18 mins of CPR, he wasn't stable for a while to be even moved from the theatre. Daddy saw lots of people running back and forth, lots of people fought for his life at Guildford so we shall be forever in their debt also.

We have since realised the actions of the consultant were highly negligent so Julian was in this mess due to one man thinking he knew best.

Somehow, he met some critera for a special brain cooling at St Peters, the neonatal ambulance was called and they had to stand by for numerous hours as Jules was not stable enough to be moved. Even Roger did not see him for ages.

I awoke to see Roger sat next to me alone, knew it would be bad news and I think I went into denial mode or something similar to get me through.

When Jules was transfered I sent Roger with him, I knew I was ok, I wanted someone to be close by.

I knew things were bad when I had a text from Roger asking if we wanted him baptised and requested urgently to be moved myself as I had only seen him briefly as he was being transfered out.

Apparently Roger was told he wasn't expected to make it through the night when he arrived at St Peters, he was a very very sick little boy.

I arrived later on, but did not see him till the next morning. When I did he was on a ventilator and had the whole works working for him in NICU, he was in the intensive care nursery but despite being medicated when I opened his incubator and touched him and said hello mummy is here he opened his eyes and his arms went up in the air, he then shut them again after looking at me for a few moments and did not open them again until Sunday.

He was cooled until Sunday, when he was gradually warmed up, he had already come off of the ventilator on the Saturday. He was doing so well, from being told he would not make it through Wednesday night, till being told on Thursday he would survive but there would be brain damage...there was a little hope.

Other things we were told in the week were that he had no gag reflex, but he soon sorted that one out :)

Our little man woke his eyes up at 16.20 that sunday afternoon and continuted to fight the fight he had started when he was born, he went from strength to strength, everyone at the unit thought it was so amazing.

This is when he woke up, luckily Roger captured it on video as he had the camera in his hands at the time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEFJuVoVN0Y

This was Julian the day after he woke up.....

http://www.youtube.com/user/ROGERANDHELEN#p/a/u/1/Q-H1l9abGVY

This is the album of photographs that captures the time in special care...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=212180&id=682941689&l=ac3acad954

and since he came home:

his first month

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=212682&id=682941689&l=5d567665d9

his second month

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=220604&id=682941689&l=391cb3c6b5

his third month

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=225952&id=682941689&l=5508966096

 

 

 

We want to do whatever we can for the unit that gave us our baby back. We have taken home a baby that is to all intense purposes 'normal' he has normal reflexes, is alert, is full of life as any other baby is.

We have been asked what we would like as  gifts for Jules, but to be honest whilst we truly appreciate that, he has everything he needs, he needed the gift of life and was given it, St Peters NICU gave us our baby, and we would like to help other families be given their babies, and other babies be given the gift of life that our little man has been given.

Whilst there we spoke to many people about what the unit needs. One thing that become clear is that even basic equipment has to be funded from charity so all we ask is please instead of a gift you just gift a few pounds or even a pound to this amazing unit that didn't just save our baby, they saved me and Roger and saved our family. When I see Jennifer so proud of her baby brother it makes me realise just how utterly painful life would have been for everyone.

So a massive thank you to all of the staff at the St Peters NICU for our little boy Julian Leyster (known as Julian Karis-Moody whilst he was in there as he was under mummys name)

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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